Pope condemns Egypt church blast, appeals for end to terror

Pope Francis, who is due to visit Egypt later this month, on Sunday (April 9), condemned the blast that killed at least 21 people and injured 50 a Coptic church in the Nile Delta.

He also prayed for the victims of an attack in Sweden in which a hijacked delivery truck mowed down pedestrians in Stockholm, killing four people.

Addressing tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass, the pope expressed his “deepest condolences” to all Egyptians and to the head of the Coptic Church, who is due to be one of his hosts on the April 28-29 trip.

The blast was the latest assault on a religious minority that has increasingly been targeted by Islamist militants.